The Wisdom of the Butterfly
a symbolic exploration
“Transformation is inevitable, but butterfly will help teach you that growth and change does not have to be traumatic. It will teach you that it can occur as gently, as sweetly, and as joyfully as we wish”
-Ted Andrews, Animal Speak
Have butterflies been showing up to you in your dreams or in your waking life? Do you find yourself drawn to their images in art? These beautiful creatures may have made their way into your consciousness to aid you in the process of transition. The butterfly awakens us and prepares us for important changes in our lives. It puts us in touch with our ability to transform completely, to accept death and rebirth the way that the caterpillar mummifies itself in a cocoon to grow its wings. If butterflies are fluttering into your life, a physical and/or spiritual metamorphosis may already be underway. In accepting changes and surrendering ourselves to the process of transformation we open ourselves up to a new boundless freedom in the form of colorful new wings.
In Greek, the word “psyche” means both “soul” and “butterfly”. The butterfly thus is connected to the psychological mind and the soul, the inner essence of a person. In many cultures, butterflies are the souls of the deceased spirits. They can also be symbolic of living spirits who travel through the unseen realms of the collective unconscious through intuitive and spiritual means. The butterfly is like the ba soul, a part of the soul considered by the ancient Egyptians to be able to fly and travel outside of the person’s body. The ba soul gains its spiritual flight after either physical death and mummification or a metaphorical initiatory death. At its spiritual rebirth, its wings lift it through the world of spirits and archetypal forms, as it seeks to rejoin the higher god-self, the akh. It flies through your dreams while you sleep picking up nectar from the symbols it finds nourishment from and metabolizing those symbols into conscious thought.
The butterfly belongs to the element of air, the realm of thought. It flits and dances between flowers, it weaves between the worlds unconscious and conscious, making intuitive mental connections with instinctual ease. In the Rider-Waite tarot, the Queen and King of Swords sit on thrones made of butterflies, signifying figures who have gone through a transformative process of the mind, they wield their swords expertly, understanding the power of their thoughts and of their words. The butterfly is also visionary, is it the eyes of the soul, the key to obtaining psychic sight. If you have struggled to see the path ahead of you, the butterfly will open your eyes.
The butterfly’s ability to travel through realms is mirrored in its inherent symmetry. We are inherently dual-natured, the flapping of the wings of the butterfly brings together two sides of the self, only to separate them again. These dual aspects of ourselves (the masculine and feminine, the instinct and ego, the body and mind) have to engage in this perpetual dance of uniting and separating in order to ascend upwards toward our greater purpose. In separation, we come to understand how each part of our nature and of our mind functions autonomously. In unity, we experience all parts as integral to the balance and wholeness of our body and soul. To achieve the balance that allows us to fly, we must know both wings, we must bring the repressed parts of ourselves into the light of consciousness.
The butterfly reminds us of this ability to ascend, to dream big, and teaches us to expand our perception, for it is the spiritual and intuitive wisdom of our ancestors. It is the joy and beauty of flight, it is our ever-expanding perception as we allow ourselves to see the world from new vantage points. It tells us that we must allow ourselves to open up to new ideas, to new visions, to allow for the possibility of what seemed impossible before. It dances around in its beauty, teaching us to embrace our uniqueness and open our wings to show the true colors of our souls.
Connecting to the image and spirit of the butterfly to attune oneself to its power and wisdom can be done in many ways. I connect to the spirit of the butterfly through the 6th Chakra, or the third eye (the spot at the middle of my forehead). I place both hands near this spot and visualize a purple spiral of light there. I see the butterfly in all its purple and indigo shades, sitting on my forehead. I will also visualize myself as a butterfly, flying around above the trees. Sometimes it helps to incorporate movement, flap your wings like a butterfly, close your eyes, and imagine the sensation of floating through the air. Exploring the symbol of the butterfly through art will also help one connect to it. I like to draw butterflies or decorate my room with butterflies cut out of a piece of paper that I’ve folded in half. Having the images around you will allow you to integrate their wisdom and understand the butterfly’s personal message and meaning for you.
